Sunday 17 October 2010

The Final Curtain - "CCTV rich" to "CCTV FAIL!"

"In the next image, this is the last sighting of Lindsay, Khan and Tanweer. This was the first CCTV sighting that we had on the unit on this enquiry as they pass through towards the underground station."

DI Kindness, to the 7/7 Inquests 13 October 2010
Q. [Hugo Keith QC] Can you recall on what day you first spotted a number of men walking through the King's Cross area, in particular through the Thameslink station carrying rucksacks?
A. [Detective Inspector Ewan Kindness] It was on 11 July 2005, sir.
Q. So on the Monday?
A. It was, yes.
Q. Can you recall what it was about the appearance of those men on the CCTV that alerted you to the fact that you might have identified the bombers?
A. My officer, who was engaged in the actual CCTV recovery, was ex-military. He saw the four individuals walking through and they were walking two by two and he felt it was significant. They were carrying large rucksacks and he brought my attention to it. I concurred with him that it was a matter of priority for us.

On Day 4 of the Inquests it became clear that the image above was the last piece of CCTV, according to the Metropolitan Police, that exists of the four accused together anywhere near King's Cross underground station and also the last of Khan, Tanweer or Lindsay.

CCTV footage of Hasib Hussain outside King's Cross was shown to the Inquests and released to the press. However, no other footage exists, we are told, that shows the movements of Khan, Tanweer or Lindsay after the King's Cross Thameslink was captured. Why not? Especially when on 11 July 2005, Deputy Chief Constable of the British Transport Police, Andy Trotter, boldly announced, "The Underground network is a CCTV-rich environment".

The exchange below, between Mr Patterson QC, counsel for the bereaved, and Detective Inspector Ewan Kindness, provides further details. Details which only become apparent to keen listeners in attendance at the Inquests or eagle-eyed readers of the transcripts because, as usual, major show-stoppers in the official "narrative" of 7/7 are regularly and completely ignored by the press.
MR PATTERSON: Officer, we then watched the footage -- and I don't think we need to play this, thank you -- of the men entering the railway station. In fact, we don't actually see them buying tickets, do we, in the footage? Were you able to find any footage or CCTV evidence that helps to explain how they got their tickets?
A.[DI EWAN KINDNESS] I can't recall the tickets being purchased.
Q. Then in terms of the journey south, I think you told us that there were no cameras on board the train, is that right?
A. That's correct.
Q. When they got to King's Cross, in terms of the available footage, although there were quite a few cameras at King's Cross station, is it right that the only cameras that were recording for the relevant time was a camera in the tunnel?
A. There were 76 -- it was a temporary system. King's Cross underground had a temporary system in place. 76 cameras moving in sequence from one second at a time. Fortunately for us, at the appropriate period, between 8.30 and 8.50, it sat for 20 minutes on that one camera and that allowed us, at that period, they came through and we got the first sighting.
Q. Is there any footage of the mainline station as opposed to the Thameslink station?
A. When you say "mainline", do you mean mainline King's Cross?
Q. Yes.
A. At some distance away?
Q. Yes, is there any footage, CCTV footage -- you referred earlier today to many, many hours of footage that would be relevant to the emergency response.
A. I mean, King's Cross mainline footage was that which Hasib Hussain has been identified on, so that's some of it. Of course, it's quite a large estate, but there is definitely King's Cross mainline footage.
Q. So if anyone wants to look at footage of the platform or of the escalator, there is footage that has survived of all of those different areas of the mainline station?
A. I would -- I mean, we'd have to check the schedule, sir, but from my understanding, that would have been seized and certainly was viewed, so it would be accessible, yes.
Q. Was it possible to find CCTV footage showing the area of the station where the witness, Joseph Martoccia,
A. Could you just provide me a little bit of information about what he sighted, sir, just to refresh my memory?
Q. He was a witness who described seeing the group. He described four to six Asian males with rucksacks, and hugging and euphoric I think --
A. Certainly euphoric, but, no, there was nothing, we looked for that, sir, and there was nothing at all.
Q. That wasn't covered by cameras?
A. No.
Q. In terms of the platforms and the Circle Line heading west and the movements of Mohammed Sidique Khan, presumably you looked but that wasn't covered?
A. That's correct.
Q. And heading east and the movements of Shehzad Tanweer, presumably you looked --
A. Yes, we did.
Q. -- but there was no coverage of him boarding the train?
A. At King's Cross?
Q. At King's Cross.
A. No.

From this we learn that "a temporary system" of 76 cameras was installed at King's Cross, but that it malfunctioned for 20 minutes between the crucial period of approximately 8.30am - 8.50am on the 7 July 2005. This "malfunction" left just one of 76 cameras actually recording CCTV footage. Fortunately for the investigating officers, the one camera which remained in operation happened to be the one which was trained on the tunnel between the King's Cross Thameslink station and King's Cross mainline station. This one CCTV camera captured the image shown above.

The distance between the Thameslink tunnel where this image was captured and the King's Cross underground lines is shown on this map:


Note: The account of this image being the key that led the investigation back to Luton station has been thoroughly discredited under questioning by Ms Gallagher QC, counsel for the bereaved. This is examined in detail here.

This means that:
  • There is no CCTV footage from the underground showing Hasib Hussain allegedly on the Northern Line,
  • There is no CCTV footage showing the "iconic" but never seen image of the four men hugging euphorically,
  • There is no CCTV from the ticket gates, subways or platforms showing any of the four accused at King's Cross.
It isn't clear yet whether any CCTV exists from the trains as Patterson didn't question DI Kindness on this issue but, given the following account from Rachel "North", it would be surprising if footage from the trains didn't exist. At a meeting in May 2006 between survivors and bereaved and the then Home Secretary, John Reid, Rachel "North" noted:
Over to the questions. The first question was from a man who lost his boyfriend at Russell Square who wanted to know if there were CCTV images of the bombers on the trains, and whether he could see the last minutes of his loved one. The Counter Terrorism representative said that there were, but they had not been released, as the post-bomb CCTV images 'were disturbing'. Dr. Reid promised to investigate whether images of the train before the bomb could be shown privately to the bereaved man. It sounded like the CCTV images were not of good quality.

If DI Kindness' statement is correct, and the image shown above is the last sighting of Khan, Tanweer and Lindsay, any footage that might exist from the trains will not show any of the three accused.

So, what about any other crucial CCTV from the events of 7 July 2005 that might go some way to proving that the four accused were actually on the trains and the number 30 bus?

There are reams of footage showing Hasib Hussain in and around King's Cross and the Euston Road, but what about the footage from Hussain's infamous trip to MacDonalds, where it is claimed he inserted a 9 volt battery, purchased minutes before from W.H. Smith, into his 'malfunctioning explosives'?
Q. Finally this, Inspector: the movements of Hasib Hussain, you've shown us the various bits of footage of his movements and of the buses. Was there any footage from inside McDonalds restaurant where he seemed to be present for some 8 minutes?
A. There was no footage. We recovered the CCTV from McDonalds, but unfortunately the system was -- the recording was stopped prior to him going into that location.
Q. So there were cameras, but for some reason they weren't recording?
A. There were cameras and, in fact, you see the office manager in the office going to the video machine and switching the "stop" button and it stops.

How about footage from the Number 91 bus that Hasib is alleged to have boarded before allegedly switching to the Number 30 at Euston Station?
Q. Then finally the buses. The number 91 bus that he was believed to have taken along the Euston Road, no cameras inside that bus?
A. No, sir, no.
Q. Is that because there were cameras and they had malfunctioned or --
A. I can't recall the reasons why, but it was a main priority for us to find him on the bus, as you can see by our actions on the night of the 7th, to get the route 30 bus footage to identify him. So when we had the witness statement stating that -- the 91 bus, that was a priority for us to identify it and, for whatever reason, we didn't identify that footage. So I can't say at the moment whether that was malfunctioned or it wasn't there, it was recorded over, but for one of those reasons why we didn't have access to it.
Q. The same with the number 30 bus, there were cameras, but it wasn't --
A. The route 30 bus had malfunctioned earlier in the year, so we identified it that night, we viewed it that night at the laboratory, and it showed footage from earlier in the year, nothing of the date in question.
Source: Transcripts, 14 October 2010
Afternoon session, p61, lines 13 on
So, no footage of Hasib Hussain from the Euston Road boarding the Number 91 bus, nor is there any footage from Euston station of him boarding the Number 30.

For over five years J7 have been calling on the government to 'RELEASE THE EVIDENCE" but, as a result of the revelations during the first week of the Inquests, perhaps we need to change our demand to, "WHERE IS THE EVIDENCE?"

19 comments:

  1. So many assumptions with so little in the way of concrete
    evidence. My hope is, with approximately two months to go,
    it gets better by the way of more hard evidence. Do not hold your breath!

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  2. I would say that this very strongly points to 7/7 being an inside job.

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  3. So all those camera's miraculously malfunctioned...amazing.

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  4. That's what DI Kindess said.

    75 cameras failed, except the crucial one that provided the only image showing the four accused at King's Cross Thameslink, still some way from King's Cross underground station.

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  5. @Ruth: The term 'inside job' is bandied around a lot, but the logical follow-up question would be:

    Inside job to whom or what?

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  6. Has anyone spoken to the office manager in McDonald's to discover why the CCTV was conveniently switched off just before Hasib Hussein entered? We shall never now be able to see for ourselves him rummaging around in his highly unstable rucksack to attach a battery. How convenient is that.

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  7. You know, I can see how the judge is bent, I can see how the QC is bent, but what I don't get, is that in the face of the most monstrous cover up on the British mainland in history, that not a single damned journalist has the gumption to look at the work you've done, the inferences you've drawn, taken a deep breath and gone "they're onto something here".

    Because you plainly are - and these lying, treacherous, murdering scum are getting found out with every twisted, incoherent outpouring.

    Oh what a tangled web we weave!

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  8. I don't recall my VHS failing and it was decades old the last time i used it. What is with these CCTV cameras that can fail? More information on this system needs to be exposed. The question I have is the remote control of the devices to "look away" at critical times.

    www.hawkscafe.com

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  9. So much for CCTV 'combating terrorists'! Would it not be useful for the inquiry to ascertain exactly WHY the cameras 'malfunctioned' for that critical period?

    When is the inquiry going to grill Bob Kiley and Peter Powers?

    When is the inquiry going to examine the linkage between the bus and Tavistock House and its occupants on that dreadful day?

    When is the inquiry going to examine the parallels between 7/7, Madrid bombing and 9/11, for there is most certainly a connection...?

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  10. I think it was the bloke from the Grassy Knoll, someone needs to check the CCTV there!

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  11. Strange how the CCTV cameras all functioned perfectly on the so-called dummy run or reconnaissance trip shortly before 7/7.

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  12. Nick Kollerstrom seemd to have been attending the inquest
    and has also made sumbissions to the inquest
    on his site http://terroronthetube.co.uk/latest-77-articles-3/germaine-lindsey-at-king%e2%80%99s-cross/
    he refears to Mr. Fayad Patel a customer service assistant of London Underground who claims he saw someone looking like
    Germain Lindsay at KIngs Cross between between 08:15 and 08:45. Perhaps more imortant is his statement
    how delays on the Northern Line, on National Rail and perhaps elsewhere that morning meant that “the entire Tube gate line area was congested and we’d implemented a station control to try and minimise the flow of passengers.” This involved shutting escalators off, shutting the main entrance and exit points and then periodically opening them as and when appropriate.

    As there was only nine minutes form arriving at 8.26 (if time stamp accurate) and the 08.35 : The Eastbound Circle line train leaving Kings Cross
    These station controls would have resulted in delays of many minutes. Making it even more unlikly that the 8.35 could be caught

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  13. ^ Anonymous said: "Nick Kollerstrom seemd to have been attending the inquest"

    Seems is the appropriate word, he's been seen there for a couple of hours at most.

    'and has also made sumbissions to the inquest'

    Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, although we doubt NK's sincerity


    'on his site http ://terroronthetube.co.uk/latest-77-articles-3/germaine-lindsey-at-king%e2%80%99s-cross/
    he refears to Mr. Fayad Patel a customer service assistant of London Underground who claims he saw someone looking like
    Germain Lindsay at KIngs Cross between between 08:15 and 08:45.'


    It's fairly clear that the man Mr Fayaz Patel describes was not Lindsay:

    20 A. Yes. The guy was tall, male, black, short hair,
    21 I wouldn't say dressed -- he wasn't wearing a suit, but
    22 he was dressed quite smart, and --
    24 A. Just wearing a shirt tucked in, smart trousers and it's
    25 very strange for a passenger to ask for the duty station
    9 Q. Did he have any kind of accent at all?
    10 A. I would say maybe north London, but I'm not -- I can't
    11 confirm accent.

    It is possible though that this was an excuse to get the DSM out of the control room which is what Mr Patel did in response to this man's request.

    'Perhaps more imortant is his statement
    how delays on the Northern Line, on National Rail and perhaps elsewhere that morning meant that “the entire Tube gate line area was congested and we’d implemented a station control to try and minimise the flow of passengers.” This involved shutting escalators off, shutting the main entrance and exit points and then periodically opening them as and when appropriate.'


    Which included shutting off the entrance from the Thameslink tunnel as well:

    'As there was only nine minutes form arriving at 8.26 (if time stamp accurate) and the 08.35 : The Eastbound Circle line train leaving Kings Cross
    These station controls would have resulted in delays of many minutes. Making it even more unlikly that the 8.35 could be caught'


    The time of 9 minutes does seem unlikely although the main gate line (where Fayaz Patel was working that morning) wouldn't necessarily be the route to the Circle Line. As described by TfL in a response to a J7 FOI request:

    To access the Circle line on 7 July 2005, you could walk from the Thameslink station with a valid Tube ticket through the Thameslink tunnel to either the Victoria or Piccadilly line platforms. From here, you would walk along the platforms and then up the escalators and left at the top, (before the main gateline) through the narrow "Kyber Pass" passageway and gateline, (passing the Euston road stairs on your left) then down the stairs on the right to the Circle line platform concourse.

    As Fayaz Patel said though:

    17 Q. All right. Do you know, one way or another, as to
    18 whether or not the gate was shut on that morning, or
    19 whether it was simply part of what is expected to be
    20 done?
    21 A. Well, I would believe that if the station control was in
    22 place, then it's likely that that gate would be shut.

    Noticeably this is not pursued by Counsel - but it appears to have happened a bit earlier than 8.30:

    20 A. Yes, by about 8.00, the entire Tube gate line area was
    21 congested and we'd implemented a station control to try
    22 and minimise the flow of passengers.

    Another point is that Hugo Keith is attempting to push forward the time that the Aldgate train left KX was 8.38 and not 8.35 (which is what TfL told J7 in a FOI):

    "The train that he destroyed, train
    17 set number 204, left Kings Cross about 08.38"

    Behind the Scenes of the Aldgate Explosion, at 11 minutes to 9

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  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  15. Why is the timestamp in the CCTV image at Kings Cross show the time to be 9:26?

    It's definitely not 8:26?

    It can't be GMT, so it must be BST (GMT+1).

    So if the time on the ground when the bombs went off is 8:50, that is to say if you looked at your watch when the bombs went off (which would be BST), then this picture has to show the bombers after the bombs have already exploded.

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  16. It is 08:26, I think. Compare with the "039 MONITOR"

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  17. It's been proven beyond reasonable doubt 9/11 wasn't the result of 19 arabs hijacking aircraft and this 7/7 looks to be very suspicious too.

    The cameras suddenly failed at a very convenient time on more than one vital occassion.

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  18. It smells rotten! CCTV protects no-one!

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  19. This all sounds rotten. Its actually quite scary. Is this a world that we can bring kids up in? I am gonna stop watching the news cos its all crap. There is a cover up of sorts but I cant see who is behind it.
    Have we figured out what time the 'bombers' actually left Luton? is there any record of rail tickets being purchased?

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